Arizonahttp://www.businessinsider.com/category/arizona
en-usFri, 09 Dec 2016 13:23:05 -0500Fri, 09 Dec 2016 13:23:05 -0500The latest news on Arizona from Business Insiderhttp://static3.businessinsider.com/assets/images/bilogo-250x36-wide-rev.pngBusiness Insiderhttp://www.businessinsider.com
http://www.businessinsider.com/arizona-us-border-patrol-desert-weapon-immigrants-mexico-2016-12An Arizona-based advocacy group is accusing US Border Patrol of using the desert's harsh terrain as a ‘weapon'http://www.businessinsider.com/arizona-us-border-patrol-desert-weapon-immigrants-mexico-2016-12
Wed, 07 Dec 2016 23:39:00 -0500Rory Carroll
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/58488a10ba6eb605688b7084-703/undefined" alt="A U.S. Border Patrol Agent patrols along the U.S. and Mexico border in Naco, Arizona in this September 7, 2011 file photo. REUTERS/Joshua Lott/Files " data-mce-source="Thomson Reuters" data-mce-caption="File photo of a U.S. Border Patrol Agent patrolling along the U.S. and Mexico border in Naco Arizona" /></p><p></p>
<p>The US Border Patrol agency has engineered the death and disappearance of tens of thousands of undocumented immigrants by using the desert wilderness as a &ldquo;weapon&rdquo;, according to an advocacy group.</p>
<p>Agents chase and scatter border crossers across hostile terrain in a strategy that leaves many people injured, dead or lost, turning the US&rsquo;s south-western frontier into a &ldquo;vast graveyard of the missing&rdquo;, the Arizona-based group&nbsp;<a href="http://forms.nomoredeaths.org/en/" data-link-name="in body link">No More Deaths</a>&nbsp;said on Wednesday.</p>
<p>&ldquo;The known disappearance of thousands of people in the remote wilderness of the US&ndash;Mexico border zone marks one of the great historical crimes of our day,&rdquo; the group said in a blistering report, the first of three reports documenting alleged abuses by Border Patrol.</p>
<p>In addition to deadly apprehension methods it accused the federal agency, which deploys about 18,000 agents on the 2,000-mile border with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/mexico" data-link-name="auto-linked-tag" data-component="auto-linked-tag">Mexico</a>, of sabotaging humanitarian aid efforts and discriminating against undocumented people in emergency responses.</p>
<p>No More Deaths, a ministry of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tucson, worked with volunteers from another group, La Coalici&oacute;n de Derechos Humanos, on the 34-page report. It drew on a survey of 58 border crossers and 544 cases from the Missing Migrant Crisis Line. Tens of thousands have gone missing since the 1990s, including 1,200 last year, it said.</p>
<p>&ldquo;If found, the disappeared turn up in detention centers, in morgues or skeletonized on the desert floor; many human remains are never identified. Thousands more are never located. With each passing day, another father, sister, aunt, brother, partner or child goes missing while attempting to cross the Southwest border.&rdquo;</p>
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/5825f4f6691e8828018b63c5-2000" alt="us mexico border" data-mce-source="Reuters/Jose Luis Gonzalez" data-mce-caption="A boy looks at a fence that is part of a section of the U.S.-Mexico border wall at Sunland Park, U.S. opposite the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, September 9, 2016. Picture taken from the Mexico side of the U.S.-Mexico border." /></p>
<p>Border Patrol&rsquo;s parent organisation, US Customs and Border Protection, issued a statement defending its record.</p>
<p>&ldquo;CBP values human life, and we collaborate closely with foreign government officials, law enforcement partners, and community organizations to educate potential migrants about the true dangers of crossing the border illegally.&rdquo;&nbsp;</p>
<p>It said the Tucson sector Border Patrol deploys 36 rescue beacons and more than 230 agents trained as Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs), plus 54 Border Patrol Search, Trauma and Rescue (BORSTAR) agents.</p>
<p>The agency blamed deaths on smugglers. &ldquo;Smugglers lie, telling their &lsquo;customers&rsquo; their passage will be safe, but in reality, the terrain is treacherous and the conditions are extreme. Many are led to their deaths by smugglers more concerned about making money than they are about the lives of others.&rdquo;</p>
<p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/donaldtrump" data-link-name="in body link">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;has promised to wall off the southern border to stop undocumented immigrants and illegal drugs entering the US, raising expectations of an expanded border force and intensified interception efforts after he becomes president next month.&nbsp;</p>
<div id="dfp-ad--inline1" data-link-name="ad slot inline1" data-test-id="ad-slot-inline1" data-name="inline1" data-mobile="1,1|2,2|300,250|fluid" data-google-query-id="CLb1uO-L49ACFc7dYgodcmAACQ">
<div id="google_ads_iframe_/59666047/theguardian.com/us-news/article/ng_2__container__"><iframe width="1" height="1" frameborder="0" data-integralas-id-457be16e-5fd7-32c8-2f43-e667f1cc8caf=""></iframe>The National Border Patrol Council, a union which represents agents, has endorsed Trump&rsquo;s candidacy and advised his transition team. It says about half of border crossers slip through,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bpunion.org/index.php/newsroom/press-releases/1855-nbpc-congratulates-president-elect-donald-j-trump" data-link-name="in body link">a &ldquo;frightening&rdquo; security gap&nbsp;</a>which leaves the US vulnerable to drug cartels and terrorists.</div>
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<div><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/575ae11852bcd024008c8576-2400" alt="Mexico border" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Jorge Luis Plata/File Photo" data-mce-caption="Central American migrants stand atop wagons while waiting for the freight train &amp;quotLa Bestia&amp;quot, or the Beast, to travel to north Mexico to reach and cross the U.S. border, in Arriaga in the state of Chiapas January 10, 2012." /></div>
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<p>Border manpower and hardware has increased exponentially since 9/11, transforming what was a chain link fence into a zone bristling with cameras, sensors, drones and rapid response teams.&nbsp;</p>
<p>No More Deaths depicts the border as a gauntlet which often condemns would-be crossers to grim and uncertain fates. It said the policy was rooted in a 1994 Clinton-era Border Patrol strategy called &ldquo;Prevention Through Deterrence&rdquo; which sealed off urban entry points and funneled people to wilderness routes&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/21/-sp-bodies-border-mexico-us-crossing" data-link-name="in body link">risking injury, dehydration, heat stroke, exhaustion and hypothermia</a>.</p>
<p>The Border Patrol estimates at least 6,000 have died since the 1990s. Other estimates are significantly higher. With many bodies never found, precision is impossible.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The report accused agents of hounding people to injury and death, and brutalising those they captured: &ldquo;Mass death and disappearance are the inevitable outcomes of a border enforcement plan that uses the wilderness as a weapon.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Of the 58 border crossers who were interviewed, 47 said they had been chased within the past five years, some several times. &ldquo;We run as if we were blind, as if we had a cloth over our eyes,&rdquo; said one.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The report cited the case of a 29-year-old Salvadorean who went missing on 27 August 2015 after fleeing a patrol in south Texas. He told his family in a text message he thought his foot was broken. His whereabouts and fate remain unknown.</p>
<p><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/575ae23d52bcd025008c84d8-2400" alt="Mexico border" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Alejandro Acosta/File Photo" data-mce-caption="Mexican immigration officers talk with a man whom they suspect to be an illegal immigrant during a search operation in Zapopan near Guadalajara, Mexico July 29, 2014." /></p>
<p>Pursuit increases the risk of dehydration, heat stroke, exhaustion, injury and drowning, the report said. And more than 40% of chases, according to the survey, resulted in someone becoming lost.</p>
<p>A mother told the Missing Migrant Crisis Line in August 2015 that she received a text from her son saying he was lost in Arizona&rsquo;s Ajo region. &ldquo;He said &lsquo;migraci&oacute;n&rsquo; had made his group scatter, and that he was alone, having lost sight of his group when everyone ran.&rdquo; His fate remains unknown.</p>
<p>Of the 67 chases, 12 resulted in injury from excessive force during apprehension, according to the survey. The report cited cases of people being punched, kneed, hit with vehicles, intimidated and bitten by dogs. Border Patrol agents have killed 48 people since 2010, half of them during pursuit, it said.</p>
<p>The next two reports will detail allegations that agents have vandalised humanitarian supplies &ndash; Samaritans and other groups leave food and water on trails &ndash; and discriminate against undocumented people in emergency response.</p>
<p>Minutemen-like militias claim Border Patrol efforts are an Obama administration sham and that the frontier is open, a de facto welcome mat for &ldquo;criminals&rdquo; and &ldquo;aliens&rdquo;.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Everybody knows where the checkpoints are. It&rsquo;s window dressing,&rdquo; said Harry Hughes, who said he had just returned from the field, monitoring cartel scouts. He doubted Trump would change much. &ldquo;Congress writes the checks.&rdquo;</p>
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/559d3006eab8ea4777eccdd9-2400" alt="USA and Mexico border" data-mce-source="Getty Images/John Moore" /></p>
<p>Robert Crooks, another Arizona Minuteman, was more bullish and said Trump was already having an impact. &ldquo;A lot of the illegals have already started self-deporting because they know a change is coming.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Would-be crossers at immigrant shelters in Nogales, just inside Mexico, called the border a formidable barrier with treacherous terrain and ubiquitous cameras, sensors, drones and patrols, real or perceived.</p>
<p>To cross they must pay several thousand dollars&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jan/22/duped-mafia-mexican-couple-border-gang" data-link-name="in body link">in fees and &ldquo;taxes&rdquo;</a>&nbsp;to criminals, or haul drugs. Being spotted by Border Patrol can mean forfeiting a fortune or going to jail for drug smuggling. Either way, a strong incentive to flee.</p>
<p>The risk of getting lost in the wilderness are set against the certain grimness of being shackled and herded back into Mexico, broke, desperate and, in the case of those in Nogales, cold.</p>
<p>Some deportees sleep in a cemetery, huddling under blankets, branches and cardboard to survive sub-zero temperatures.&nbsp;</p>
<p>&ldquo;My mother prays for me,&rdquo; said Betancourt, a Honduran. Deported last March after a decade in the US, he had spent two months and several hundred dollars traversing 2,500 miles from Honduras up to Nogales. Now the US was a two-minute walk away. From some tombstones you could see the 18ft steel border fence.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Betancourt declined to reveal his full name, or how he intended to cross. But if spotted by Border Patrol he had a plan: &ldquo;Run.&rdquo;</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/arizona-us-border-patrol-desert-weapon-immigrants-mexico-2016-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-cook-scrambled-eggs-anthony-bourdain-2016-11">The best way to cook scrambled eggs — according to Anthony Bourdain</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/arizona-department-of-economic-security-weapons-2016-12The headquarters of an Arizona welfare agency had a stockpile of weapons and ammunition in its basementhttp://www.businessinsider.com/arizona-department-of-economic-security-weapons-2016-12
Thu, 01 Dec 2016 22:04:00 -0500Patrick Hogan
<p><img class="float_left float_right" src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/58409800ba6eb64e018b6887-1422/screen%20shot%202016-12-01%20at%2043600%20pm.png" alt="Arizona Department of Economic Security" data-mce-source="Screenshot via The Arizona Republic" data-mce-caption="Arizona Department of Economic Security" data-link="http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-investigations/2016/11/30/arizona-guns-bullets-ammunition-seized-des-director-tim-jeffries-fired/94625698/"></p><p>The Arizona Department of Economic Security is the state’s primary welfare agency, taking care of food aid, child care, rehabilitation services and other similar things. So why was there a large weapons cache in the basement of the agency’s headquarters?</p>
<p>You’d have to ask the department’s former director.</p>
<p><em>The Arizona Republic</em> <a href="http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-investigations/2016/11/30/arizona-guns-bullets-ammunition-seized-des-director-tim-jeffries-fired/94625698/">reported</a> that last week, on the day former department director Tim Jeffries was forced to resign, state police found 50 handguns and 80,000 rounds of ammunition in a locked room in the department’s basement. (It’s unclear whether his ousting and the arms cache were connected.) They also discovered that Jeffries and four other department employees who were also fired had bought personal handguns with public money, and confiscated those weapons as well.</p>
<p>So why did Jeffries feel the need to arm a state welfare agency with the loadout of a small police department? Islamic terrorism. Yes, you read that correctly.</p>
<p>“These jihadists in San Bernardino attacked a social service center for the developmentally disabled. They will go anywhere,” Jeffries told the <em>Republic</em> when reached for comment. “As a director, one of my highest priorities was to protect my people and my clients. I stand by that with pride.”</p>
<p>So, because there once was a terrorist attack on a social service agency, all social service agencies now need to have small arsenals? That’s a fun and optimistic vision of the future.</p>
<p>This is far from the first time Jeffries has been in the spotlight. A spokesperson for Gov. Doug Ducey <a href="http://tucson.com/gov-ducey-fires-arizona-s-embattled-des-director-tim-jeffries/article_d8795d18-b1b7-11e6-8379-434ef1c7a2a7.html">would not tell the <em>Arizona Daily Star</em></a>which single incident that led to his ouster, but there has been a long string of controversial incidents involving the director.</p>
<p>He emailed the agency’s 7,000-plus staffers asking them to pray for him during his <a href="http://tucson.com/news/state-and-regional/des-chief-s-emails-about-shrine-visit-were-ok-arizona/article_c517c41e-fb01-53ac-9d7d-29989f46b903.html?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=email&amp;utm_campaign=user-share">religious pilgrimage to a Catholic shrine in Lourdes, France</a>.</p>
<p>He sent out political messages condemning a ballot measure that would have <a href="http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/des-director-e-mails-anti-prop-205-campaign-propaganda-to-entire-staff-8683080">legalized marijuana</a>. He fired almost 500 workers, half of whom the <em>Arizona Republic</em> reported had <a href="http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-investigations/2016/11/07/arizona-des-marketing-manager-alleges-wrongful-firing-agency-misconduct/93441852/">previously received merit raises </a>for outstanding performance.</p>
<p>There are more bizarre stories too, such as claims he forced his staff to watch “mojo” videos of him delivering speeches. <em>The Republic</em>reported that employees they spoke with said their computers were programmed to not function until the videos were watched in their entirety. (Jeffries <a href="http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-investigations/2016/11/23/gov-doug-ducey-fires-arizona-des-chief-tim-jeffries/94350606/">declined to comment</a> to the media about his firing.)</p>
<p>No examples of these videos were provided, but the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/azdesgov/videos">department’s YouTube page</a> is filled with videos of Jeffries giving motivational TED-talk style speeches, like this one where Jeffries implores his employees to “self-select into awesomeness”</p>
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<h3><span>There are also gems like these. Each is more, um, unique than the last!</span></h3>
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<p> <span>Most of these videos show Jeffries preaching to a captive audience of state workers. Guess they knew who’s got guns in the basement.</span></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/arizona-department-of-economic-security-weapons-2016-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-spot-massive-hole-sun-coronal-hole-video-2016-12">NASA just spotted a massive hole growing on the sun — here’s what it means</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-republican-states-that-expanded-medicaid-want-it-kept-2016-11Republican states that expanded Medicaid under Obamacare are fighting to keep ithttp://www.businessinsider.com/ap-republican-states-that-expanded-medicaid-want-it-kept-2016-11
Sun, 27 Nov 2016 17:16:00 -0500Bob Christie
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/583b5ac6e02ba75d658b54c6-2400/ap637374329481.jpg" alt="Jan Brewer" data-mce-source="AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin" data-mce-caption="Jan Brewer." /></p><p>PHOENIX (AP) &mdash; Former Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer fought her own Republican party in the state Legislature for months to push through a Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act.</p>
<p>That was three years ago. Now, as an early Donald Trump supporter who has his ear, Brewer hopes one of the pillars of President Barack Obama's health care law can be saved as Trump pushes to dump much of the overhaul.</p>
<p>"I don't know how much of that, and I mean it sincerely, is going to be affected," she told The Associated Press in an interview. She said she's encouraging Trump's administration to look at Arizona's model because it is so cost-effective.</p>
<p>Brewer said the low-income population that the Medicaid expansion was designed to cover was one of the main drivers of the law, and she's not prepared to see that group go without care. Nearly 400,000 Arizonans have gained Medicaid insurance since Brewer's proposal took effect in 2014.</p>
<p>Arizona is one of 31 states that expanded Medicaid, many of them run by Democrats. Republicans have blocked expansion in the remaining 19 states.</p>
<p>Among the GOP-led states that expanded Medicaid, many officials are like Brewer, strong proponents of the program that has brought insurance to about 9 million low-income Americans who can't possibly afford to buy it themselves. Before the expansion, those people had little access to regular health care, and when they got sick, hospitals were forced to treat them without compensation.</p>
<p>States that strongly oppose Medicaid expansion, however, continue to do so.</p>
<p>Mississippi's three top Republican leaders have said consistently for years that they believe the state cannot afford expansion, as have Idaho's GOP leaders.</p>
<p>Florida Gov. Rick Scott called for a complete repeal of Obama's overhaul a week after the Nov. 8 election. Scott has been vague, however, about what should be done about the 20 million Americans who got health insurance through the overhaul, nearly half of them though Medicaid expansion his state rejected.</p>
<p>If he doesn't completely dump the program, Trump will be under pressure to allow changes to it to give states more control.</p>
<p><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/5581c25aeab8ea6e4453bd29-1030/screen shot 2015-06-17 at 24951 pm.png" alt="medicaid expansion" data-mce-source="Washington Center for Equitable Growth" data-mce-caption="Map of Medicaid expansion under Obamacare" /></p>
<p>Current Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey last year proposed a work requirement for healthy Medicaid recipients, premiums and co-pays and a five-year limit on coverage. The Obama administration approved limited co-pays but nixed the work requirement and the five-year limit. Michigan, Indiana and Iowa also have been allowed to charge premiums or fees, but broader changes requested by some states have been rejected.</p>
<p>Vice president-elect Mike Pence told Republican governors meeting in Florida on Nov. 14 that Trump would replace traditional Medicaid funding to states with block grants that "encourage innovation that better delivers health care to eligible residents," according to a statement from the Trump transition team.</p>
<p>Pence, Indiana's governor, expanded Medicaid in his state but got waivers from the Obama administration to implement plans that kick healthy people off the program for six months if they fail to pay premiums.</p>
<p>Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said he hopes Trump's election means the state will have more flexibility in how it spends Medicaid money. More than 300,000 people are enrolled in the state's hybrid Medicaid expansion, which uses federal expansion money to buy private insurance for low-income residents.</p>
<p>"This election means we're going to have an administration that wants to give more flexibility to the states," Hutchinson, a Republican, said recently. "So this is good news in our ability to get waivers to implement the reform we want in terms of work requirements, in terms of cost-sharing, in terms of other elements of reform that encourages employer-based insurance."</p>
<p>Hutchinson stopped short of saying whether he'd like some form of coverage for those on the expanded Medicaid program to continue if Trump and congressional Republicans repeal the Affordable Care Act.</p>
<p>But Ducey, Arizona's governor, said recently the discussion is "not only about repeal but replace."</p>
<p>"We want to see all of our citizens have access to affordable health care," Ducey told reporters in response to a question about the future of Medicaid expansion. "That was the objective. That's not where we are. We've got a new president and a new Congress, and a fresh start."</p>
<p>A spokesman for Republican Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder said he plans to work with the new administration to tout the successes and advantages of his state's Medicaid expansion.</p>
<p>"How we continue that success is important, and he's willing to discuss how to do that with anyone who has other ideas to consider," Ari Adler said.</p>
<p>As for Arizona's former governor, she said her state's Medicaid program is among the nation's best in terms of costs and provider choice. The program contracts with private insurers to provide care on a per-patient basis.</p>
<p>"I don't know how you could deliver that population any more services better, more cheaply, than what we've already done here," Brewer said.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writers David Eggert in Lansing, Michigan, Gary Fineout in Orlando, Florida, and Andrew DeMillo in Little Rock, Arkansas contributed to this report.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-republican-states-that-expanded-medicaid-want-it-kept-2016-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/addiction-specialist-reveals-big-problems-legalizing-marijuana-2016-11Here’s the big problem with legalizing marijuanahttp://www.businessinsider.com/addiction-specialist-reveals-big-problems-legalizing-marijuana-2016-11
Sat, 12 Nov 2016 10:30:00 -0500Darren Weaver and Rebecca Harrington
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<p><br>In the past few years, four states have legalized recreational marijuana with the measure on the ballot box in five more states this November. Addiction specialist Dr. Samuel Ball explains the big problems these new laws could have on our country.</p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1"><strong>Follow Tech Insider:</strong> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/techinsider"><span class="s2">On Facebook</span></a></span></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/addiction-specialist-reveals-big-problems-legalizing-marijuana-2016-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-wins-arizona-two-days-after-the-election-2016-11Donald Trump wins Arizona — two days after the electionhttp://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-wins-arizona-two-days-after-the-election-2016-11
Thu, 10 Nov 2016 20:34:41 -0500
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/58251eae691e8877098b618a-723/trump-says-discussed-immigration-healthcare-and-jobs-in-senate-meeting.jpg" alt="U.S. President-elect Donald Trump speaks at his election night rally in Manhattan, New York, U.S., November 9, 2016. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri" data-mce-source="Thomson Reuters" data-mce-caption="U.S. President-elect Donald Trump speaks at his election night rally in Manhattan" /></p><p>Donald Trump has won Arizona's presidential contest and its 11 electoral votes.</p>
<p>The Republican president-elect had a solid lead over Hillary Clinton on election night, but a winner wasn't declared because there were so many uncounted votes. The latest batch of returns tabulated Thursday made him the clear winner.</p>
<p>It extends a 20-year winning streak for Republican presidential candidates in Arizona. Bill Clinton was the last Democrat to take the state, winning in 1996.</p>
<p>Hillary Clinton was closer to gaining Arizona than Barack Obama, who lost by more than 9 percentage points during his two runs for president. She is losing by 4 points.</p>
<p>Arizona was one of three races that had yet to be determined from the Tuesday election. Michigan and New Hampshire remain too close to call.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-wins-arizona-two-days-after-the-election-2016-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/air-force-plane-drops-armored-humvees-5000-feet-2016-11">Watch the Air Force drop 8 armored Humvees out of a plane from 5,000 feet</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/minimum-wage-hike-in-four-states-2016-11More than 2 million Americans are getting raises, thanks to states' minimum wage increaseshttp://www.businessinsider.com/minimum-wage-hike-in-four-states-2016-11
Wed, 09 Nov 2016 13:58:00 -0500Kate Taylor
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/57c42d3bb996eb580f8b4dd8-1744/rtr4trex.jpg" alt="mcdonald's fast food worker" data-mce-source="Lucy Nicholson/Reuters" data-mce-caption="A McDonald's employee passes an order to a driver at a drive through restaurant in Los Angeles" /></p><p>Four states voted on Tuesday to increase the minimum wage.</p>
<p><span>In Maine, Arizona, Colorado, and Washington, voters passed ballot measures to increase the minimum wage to at least $12 an hour by 2020. More&nbsp;</span><span>than two million&nbsp;people will receive pay raises&nbsp;thanks to the new laws. </span></p>
<p><span>In Arizona, Proposition 206 will raise the minimum wage from $8.05 an hour to $10 an hour by 2017 and $12 an hour by 2020. The change will impact <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2016/10/10/study-12-minimum-wage-would-give-raises-to-790k.html">an estimated </a><span>790,000 workers &mdash; 30% of the state's workforce. </span></span></p>
<p><span><span>Washington's Initiative 1433 will raise the statewide minimum wage to $13.50 an hour over the next four years, impacting an <a href="http://www.raiseupwa.com/about/">estimated 730,000. </a>The initiative also gives every worker in the state the opportunity to earn paid sick leave.&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>Colorado voted to&nbsp;increase pay for an <a href="http://www.wfco.org/file/2016-Minimum-Wage-Executive-Summary.pdf">estimated 20% of the state's workers,</a> or about 560,000 people. The current minimum wage of $8.31 an hour will rise to $12 an hour by&nbsp;2020. </span></span></p>
<p><span><span>Maine adopted a similar policy, raising the minimum wage to&nbsp;$12 an hour by 2020 &mdash; up from $7.50 an hour &mdash; a change that will <a href="http://www.state.me.us/sos/cec/elec/upcoming/citizensguide2016.pdf">impact 181,000 workers.</a></span></span></p>
<p><span><span>The federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour hasn't changed since 2009 and Congress has <a href="https://projects.propublica.org/represent/votes/113/senate/2/117">blocked</a> <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/house-republicans-vote-down-increase-in-minimum-wage-378bbc4c7344#.lc3ng8b5n">numerous </a> attempts&nbsp;to raise it.&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span><span><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/57043a6c9105842a008baeb9-2400/2016-03-30t223533z_2_lynxnpec2t173_rtroptp_4_us-california-minimumwage.jpg" alt="minimum wage" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/Files" data-mce-caption="Fast-food workers and their supporters join a nationwide protest for higher wages and union rights in Los Angeles, California, United States, in this file photo taken November 10, 2015." /></span></span></p>
<p><span><span>Across the US, proposals&nbsp;to increase minimum wages have been opposed by critics who claim that higher pay would hurt business owners, and would ultimately result in lower employment rates.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span>"Twice I&rsquo;ve talked to groups of franchisees here in Arizona, Taco Bell and McDonalds, those places that give you the first rung on the ladder,"&nbsp;<span>Sen. John McCain </span><a href="http://www.tucsonweekly.com/TheRange/archives/2016/09/23/mccain-and-kirkpatrick-split-on-az-min-wage-prop"> said in September,</a> arguing against the state's proposition to raise wages. "They cannot raise their cost of their product or people will stop purchasing it. So what are they going to do? They&rsquo;re going to automate. So somebody is going to have to convince me that it&rsquo;s good for employment in America, and I don&rsquo;t think it is."</span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span><span>But <a href="https://www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/economy/reports/2016/10/27/163048/the-raise-the-wage-effort-is-coming-to-a-city-near-you/">there's a ton of research </a> that shows&nbsp;raising wages does not lead to massive&nbsp;job cuts. And</span></span></span><span><span>&nbsp;not every business owner is opposed to raising the minimum wage.&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p>"We haven't had an increase in the federal minimum wage in seven years. That's crazy!" Bill Phelps, co-founder and CEO of Pasadena, California-based Wetzel's Pretzels, said in a statement on Wednesday. "We&rsquo;ve experienced strong sales growth after minimum wage increases. Raising the minimum wage is good for our bottom line."</p>
<p>One state rejected a proposal to actually lower the minimum wage on Tuesday. &nbsp;</p>
<p><span><span>South Dakota's proposed law to lower the minimum wage from $8.55 an hour to $7.50 an hour for&nbsp;minors failed to pass, with 71% of voters rejecting the measure.</span></span></p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/what-will-happen-to-trump-businesses-2016-11" >Here’s what will happen to Trump's businesses now that he’s going to be president</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/minimum-wage-hike-in-four-states-2016-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/shake-shack-raising-prices-wages-fast-food-industry-2015-11">Shake Shack is raising prices for the third time in 16 months — here’s why</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/marijuana-states-legalized-weed-2016-114 states just voted to make marijuana completely legal — here's what we knowhttp://www.businessinsider.com/marijuana-states-legalized-weed-2016-11
Wed, 09 Nov 2016 08:52:15 -0500Ben Gilbert
<p>Nearly half of the US has already legalized marijuana in some form, and before Election Day, four states allowed recreational use and sales.</p>
<p>On&nbsp;November 8, another four&nbsp;states voted in favor of outright marijuana legalization: California, Nevada, Maine, and Massachusetts all voted in favor of legalized use, sale, and consumption of recreational marijuana.</p>
<p><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/54bbf63d69bedd9c02fa7c90-2400/rtr4fzla.jpg" alt="marijuana colorado" data-mce-source="Rick Wilking/Reuters" data-mce-caption="Customers shop for &amp;quotGreen Friday&amp;quot deals at the Grass Station marijuana shop on Black Friday in Denver, Colorado November 28, 2014." /></p>
<p>Most significantly, California voted overwhelmingly in favor of legislation making marijuana legal, on Proposition 64 &mdash; thus making the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/california-weed-marijuana-legalization-2016-9">entire West Coast a legal enclave for recreational cannabis</a>.</p>
<p>But the story is bigger than vote tallies &mdash; by how much did these ballots&nbsp;pass? What happens next? When do these laws go into effect?</p>
<p>Here's everything we know:</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/marijuana-legalization-massachusetts-from-alcohol-2016-9" >Marijuana legalization is facing a major challenge from the alcohol industry</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>DON'T MISS:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/9-most-popular-weed-strains-2016-9" >These are the 9 most popular weed strains in Colorado</a></strong></p>
<h3>1. Massachusetts</h3>
<img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/58232eb246e27a20008b5a53-400-300/1-massachusetts.jpg" alt="" />
<p><p>In Massachusetts on November 8, voters chose yes on Question 4 &mdash; a bill to legalize the recreational use, possession, cultivation, and sale of marijuana. The bill calls for regulation along the lines of alcohol.</p>
<p>Though Massachusetts is a long-running blue state, the legalization effort in the commonwealth faced serious opposition from sitting leadership in both parties. Republican Gov. Charlie Baker and Boston Democratic Mayor Marty Walsh opposed recreational legalization. The two joined Attorney General Maura Healey <a href="http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2016/03/04/mass-should-not-legalize-marijuana/njYep84wtERutHNIHByu4J/story.html">in a Boston Globe op-ed this March</a> opposing the measure:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">"Our state has already decriminalized the drug for personal use, and we've made it legally available for medical use. The question before us now is whether marijuana should be fully legal and widely available for commercial sale. We think the answer is 'no.'"</p>
<p><strong>Result:</strong> A majority of voters supported the measure &mdash; 54% yes to 46% no &mdash; <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Massachusetts_Marijuana_Legalization,_Question_4_(2016)">according to Ballotpedia</a>. The bill legalizes recreational marijuana starting on December 15.</p></p>
<br/><br/><h3>2. California</h3>
<img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/58232ed846e27a1b008b5a20-400-300/2-california.jpg" alt="" />
<p><p>In California on November 8, voters chose yes on Proposition 64 &mdash; a bill to legalize the recreational use, possession, cultivation, and sale of marijuana. Legalization is limited to people over age 21.</p>
<p>California's Proposition 64 was the most important of all the legalization initiatives on the ballot this November.</p>
<p>With the passing of Proposition 64, the entire West Coast of the US has legalized recreational and medicinal marijuana use. That's <em>huge</em>. California, by itself, is <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/california-gdp-crushes-everyone-2016-6">the world's sixth-largest economy</a>, ahead of places like France. You know, that whole country? France? <em>Right</em>.</p>
<p>An overwhelming majority of California residents support it, even though Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein opposes legalization, and Gov. Jerry Brown <a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/2014/03/02/marijuana-in-california-jerry-brown-opposes-legalization-says-we-need-to-stay-alert/">said in 2014</a> "How many people can get stoned and still have a great state or a great nation?"</p>
<p>California's initiative is unique in that it rolls back the sentences of thousands of people who've been convicted on charges related to marijuana.</p>
<p><strong>Result:</strong> Proposition 64 <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/California_Proposition_64,_Marijuana_Legalization_(2016)">passed overwhelmingly</a>, with 56% voting yes to 44% voting no. As of 12:01 a.m. on November 9, marijuana use is fully legal in California. There's a $100 fine for smoking in public, and driving under the influence of marijuana remains illegal. California residents are allowed to grow up to six plants in their homes, and recreational sales from shops will become legal on January 1, 2018.</p></p>
<br/><br/><h3>3. Nevada</h3>
<img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/58232eed46e27ab6608b529d-400-300/3-nevada.jpg" alt="" />
<p><p>In Nevada on November 8, voters chose yes on Question 2 &mdash; a bill to legalize the recreational use, possession, cultivation, and sale of marijuana. Legalization is limited to people over 21.</p>
<p>Despite the "Sin City" association with Las Vegas, much of the state of Nevada is rural and conservative. President Barack Obama took the state in both the 2008 and 2012 elections, marking a political slide toward blue as demographics in Nevada started to look more like California.</p>
<p>Still, even with Nevada's move toward progressive policymakers and despite being a place known for its close relationship with vice, legislators aren't all in favor. Democratic Sen. Harry Reid said he'd vote against legalization if it were up to him. Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval also opposes the measure &mdash; all of which is to say it could face opposition from sitting leadership.</p>
<p><strong>Results:</strong> Question 2 also <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Nevada_Marijuana_Legalization,_Question_2_(2016)">passed with flying colors</a>, with 54% of voters saying yes to 46% saying no. As of January 1, 2018, Nevada residents are legally allowed to possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana. Only licensed medical marijuana dispensaries are allowed to apply for licenses for recreational sales.</p></p>
<br/><br/><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/marijuana-states-legalized-weed-2016-11#/#4-maine-4">See the rest of the story at Business Insider</a> http://www.businessinsider.com/arizona-election-results-2016-11ARIZONA: Trump winshttp://www.businessinsider.com/arizona-election-results-2016-11
Tue, 08 Nov 2016 17:25:36 -0500Allan Smith
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/581ba8f8691e881c008b47d4-2400/gettyimages-620692772.jpg" alt="Hillary Clinton" data-mce-source="Justin Sullivan/Getty Images" data-mce-caption="Hillary Clinton in Arizona." /></p><p>Republican nominee Donald Trump was declared the winner of Arizona.</p>
<p>Trump won with just a tick under 50% of the vote, with 69% of precincts reporting when the race was called.</p>
<p>The latest <a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/az/arizona_trump_vs_clinton_vs_johnson_vs_stein-6087.html" target="_blank">RealClearPolitics average</a>&nbsp;had Trump over Clinton by 4 points. However, earlier last week, the average had Clinton leading by less than 1 point.</p>
<p>The state's 11 electoral votes will&nbsp;prove critical to Trump. Should he lose the state, there is virtually no path for him to reach the needed 270 to win. Clinton can reach 270 more easily than Trump if she were to&nbsp;lose the state.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The only Democrat to win Arizona since 1948 was Clinton's husband, Bill, in 1996.</p>
<p>Polls in the Grand Canyon State closed at 10 p.m. EST.</p>
<p>Arizona is also home to a Senate race between longtime Republican Sen. John McCain &mdash; the 2008 GOP nominee for president &mdash; and Democratic Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick. The Associated Press called that race for McCain.</p>
<p>The most recent <a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/senate/az/arizona_senate_mccain_vs_kirkpatrick-5455.html" target="_blank">RealClearPolitics polling average</a>&nbsp;had McCain up a comfortable 10&nbsp;points on Kirkpatrick.</p>
<p><em>Developing...</em></p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-tapes-apprentice-2016-11" >A fired 'Apprentice' contestant says he has 'potentially damaging' Trump audio — but won't release it because he wants him to win</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/arizona-election-results-2016-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/inside-donald-trump-victory-party-presidential-election-2016-11">What it was really like to be inside Trump's victory party</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/addiction-specialist-reveals-big-problems-legalizing-marijuana-2016-11Here’s the big problem with legalizing marijuanahttp://www.businessinsider.com/addiction-specialist-reveals-big-problems-legalizing-marijuana-2016-11
Tue, 08 Nov 2016 14:27:06 -0500Darren Weaver and Rebecca Harrington
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<p><br>In the past few years, four states have legalized recreational marijuana with the measure on the ballot box in five more states this November. Addiction specialist Dr. Samuel Ball explains the big problems these new laws could have on our country.</p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1"><strong>Follow Tech Insider:</strong> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/techinsider"><span class="s2">On Facebook</span></a></span></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/addiction-specialist-reveals-big-problems-legalizing-marijuana-2016-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/people-across-these-4-states-are-voting-on-a-minimum-wage-hike-2016-11People across these 4 states are voting on a minimum-wage hikehttp://www.businessinsider.com/people-across-these-4-states-are-voting-on-a-minimum-wage-hike-2016-11
Fri, 04 Nov 2016 22:23:00 -0400Matt Phillips
<p><span><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/581cef10691e8804018b4eb7-2400/ap_16291714163333.jpg" alt="Ariana Davis is the sponsor of Initiative 1433 in Washington." data-mce-source="Ted S. Warren/AP Photo" data-mce-caption="Ariana Davis is the sponsor of Initiative 1433 in Washington." />Americans will likely vote next week to roll back decades of increasing economic inequality that has severely undermined the country&rsquo;s cherished self-image as a meritocratic, middle-class nation. But this vote won&rsquo;t be for president.</span></p>
<p><span>With the U.S. economy on the upswing, voters in Arizona, Colorado, Maine, and Washington are set to vote on increases to those states&rsquo; minimum wages by as much as 60 percent over the next few years, adding to nationwide momentum that has lifted wages for low-income workers significantly.</span></p>
<p><span>&ldquo;In a time of prosperity and high profit and high stock market, there&rsquo;s a demand to raise the minimum wage,&rdquo; said Michael Reich, a professor of economics at the University of California, Berkeley, who studies the minimum wage. &ldquo;Whenever times are good, then there&rsquo;s less fear or risk by policymakers about putting those through.&rdquo;</span></p>
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<p><span>Along with surging executive pay, the decline of unionization, and the disappearance of U.S. manufacturing jobs, economists view the stagnant value of the U.S. federal minimum wage as an important contributor to increasing inequality over the last three decades. In inflation-adjusted terms, the federal minimum wage is now more than 20 percent lower than it was in 1980. (Back then the minimum wage of $3.10 an hour had the same buying power as roughly $9 in 2016 dollars.)</span></p>
<p><span>And even though the federal government raised the minimum wage in 2009, to $7.25 to from $6.55, it has been completely flat since, prompting several states to move ahead with wage increases of their own.</span></p>
<p><span>In 2015, 24 states and the District of Columbia either implemented or phased in wage increases, according to data compiled by the Washington Center for Equitable Growth. Among them were deeply Republican states such as Nebraska and South Dakota and blue bastions such as Massachusetts and Maryland.</span></p>
<p><span><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/581cef78691e8877098b4d7d-2400/ap_16305863486240.jpg" alt="Workers with the Living United for Change in Arizona organization spoke with a voter at a south Phoenix." data-mce-source="Astrid Galvan/AP Photo" data-mce-caption="Workers with the Living United for Change in Arizona organization spoke with a voter at a south Phoenix." /></span></p>
<p><span>There&rsquo;s a simple reason why both red and blue states are willing to vote to lift wages for low-income workers. And it&rsquo;s the same reason both Republican nominee Donald Trump and Democratic standard-bearer Hillary Clinton have said the minimum wage should rise. Raising the minimum wage is overwhelmingly popular. &nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span></span><span>Some 73 percent of Americans polled by the Pew Research Center in December 2015 </span><a href="http://www.people-press.org/2015/12/22/as-election-year-nears-public-sees-mixed-economic-picture/majority-supports-increase-in-federal-minimum-wage/"><span>favored raising the minimum wage</span></a><span>. In August, Pew asked Americans if they&rsquo;d favor raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour from the current $7.25. Roughly 52 percent did, though that majority came from </span><a href="http://www.people-press.org/2016/08/18/5-issues-and-the-2016-campaign/#clinton-and-trump-supporters-at-odds-over-15-minimum-wage"><span>overwhelming support from Democratic voters</span></a><span>.</span></p>
<p><span>Even in the midst of a tumultuous and divisive election year, support for a higher minimum wage remains strong. In Colorado, some 55 percent of voters support Amendment 70, which would raise the state&rsquo;s minimum wage to $12 an hour by 2020. (About 42 percent oppose the measure, according to a poll</span><a href="http://www.denverpost.com/2016/09/07/colorado-voters-favor-minimum-wage-hike-presidential-primary-new-poll/"><span>published by the Denver Post in September</span></a><span>.)</span></p>
<p><span>A similar proposal in Maine has the support of 6 in 10 likely voters in the state, according to </span><a href="http://www.pressherald.com/2016/09/28/poll-finds-six-out-of-10-mainers-back-12-minimum-wage-by-2020/"><span>the Portland Press Herald</span></a><span>. In traditionally conservative Arizona, more than 58 percent support a proposition to raise the minimum wage from $8.05 to $10 an hour in January, rising to $12 an hour by 2020, according </span><a href="http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/10/20/arizona-poll-voters-support-minimum-wage-hike/92413778/"><span>to results of a recent poll</span></a><span>. Likewise, support for a proposal to raise Washington&rsquo;s minimum wage to $13.50 by 2020 has support hovering around 57 percent according </span><a href="http://www.seattlepi.com/local/politics/article/Thumbs-up-to-minimum-wage-risk-protection-9153890.php"><span>to somewhat limited polling</span></a><span>. &nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/581cefe9691e8877098b4d81-2400/ap_16305863529640.jpg" alt="Proposition 206 would increase Arizona's minimum wage." data-mce-source="Astrid Galvan/AP Photo" data-mce-caption="Proposition 206 would increase Arizona's minimum wage." /></span></p>
<p><span>If the measures pass, these states will add to a recent upswing in wages for low-income workers. Last year, U.S. median household incomes jumped 5.2 percent, the largest increase on record and the first jump since 2007, the year before the financial crisis hit.</span></p>
<p><span>What&rsquo;s more, incomes for the lowest-earning 20 percent of American households were up even more, rising 6.3 percent. Poverty dropped sharply in 2015, with the number of people living in poverty falling by 3.5 million.</span></p>
<p><span>And last year, major companies &mdash; led by Wal-Mart, the country&rsquo;s largest private-sector employer &mdash; announced a series of voluntary pay increases.</span></p>
<p><span>The fact that private-sector employers felt confident enough to increase wages suggests that the timing might be right for further attempts to boost pay. (After all, if the corporations could afford pay increases, they wouldn&rsquo;t have moved to boost wages.)</span></p>
<p><span>In a recent research report, economists from Standard &amp; Poor&rsquo;s wrote that the economic benefits of a &ldquo;measured&rdquo; increase in the minimum wage would prove beneficial to a quite healthy U.S. economy.</span></p>
<p><span>&ldquo;If there&rsquo;s ever been a good time to give America a raise, it&rsquo;s now,&rdquo; they wrote.</span></p>
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</div><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/people-across-these-4-states-are-voting-on-a-minimum-wage-hike-2016-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-cook-scrambled-eggs-anthony-bourdain-2016-11">The best way to cook scrambled eggs — according to Anthony Bourdain</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/americas-toughest-sheriff-has-been-charged-with-criminal-contempt-for-defying-court-orders-to-stop-racial-profiling-2016-10'America's toughest sheriff' has been charged with criminal contempt for defying court orders to stop racial profilinghttp://www.businessinsider.com/americas-toughest-sheriff-has-been-charged-with-criminal-contempt-for-defying-court-orders-to-stop-racial-profiling-2016-10
Thu, 27 Oct 2016 21:41:00 -0400Tess Owen
<p><span><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/58126c0db28a648a058b5656-2400/arpaio.jpg" alt="Joe Arpaio" data-mce-source="AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File" data-mce-caption="Joe Arpaio" /></span></p>
<p><span>Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona, has been formally charged with criminal contempt for flouting a federal judge&rsquo;s orders in a 2007 racial profiling case.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span>If convicted, the 84-year-old lawman, who calls himself &ldquo;America&rsquo;s toughest sheriff,&rdquo; could face up to six months behind bars. U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton signed the official misdemeanor count on Tuesday.</span></p>
<p><span>Arpaio&rsquo;s harsh anti-immigrant stance and record of targeting Latinos, outspoken support for Republican nominee Donald Trump, and unconventional cost-cutting measures at the Maricopa County Jail, such as making inmates sleep in tents, have made him a controversial national figure. He&rsquo;s now running for a seventh term as sheriff in Arizona&rsquo;s second-largest county.</span></p>
<p><span>A federal judge ruled in 2013 that Arpaio and his department routinely relied on racial profiling and unlawful detention of Latinos while conducting immigration sweeps &mdash;&nbsp;and had continued to do so in spite of a 2011 court order to halt the practices. &nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span>Having a misdemeanor count on his record won&rsquo;t prevent Arpaio from serving as a sheriff in the future, but the ordeal may hurt his chances of reelection.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span>The longtime support that the sheriff has enjoyed appears to be dwindling, according to a&nbsp;</span><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-arizona-sheriff-poll-idUSKCN12K2H9?il=0"><span>recent poll&nbsp;</span></a><span>conducted by the Arizona Republic/Morrison/Cronkite News; Arpaio has a little over 31.1 percent of the vote of those surveyed, compared to Democratic challenger Paul Penzone, with&nbsp;nearly 46 percent.</span></p>
<p><span>Penzone&nbsp;</span><a href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_ARIZONA_SHERIFF_CHARGE?SITE=AP&amp;SECTION=HOME&amp;TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&amp;CTIME=2016-10-25-20-47-12"><span>told</span></a><span>&nbsp;the Associated Press that Arpaio&rsquo;s situation was &ldquo;another example of the sheriff putting his own personal objectives ahead of the best interest of the community at our expense.&rdquo;&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span>Arpaio&rsquo;s campaign manager said the charges were part of a larger conspiracy by President Obama&rsquo;s government to discredit Arpaio. &ldquo;The Obama Justice Department continues its efforts to influence the election for Sheriff of Maricopa County,&rdquo; Arpaio&rsquo;s campaign said in a&nbsp;</span><a href="http://www.abc15.com/news/state/maricopa-county-sheriff-joe-arpaio-officially-charged-with-criminal-contempt"><span>statement</span></a><span>&nbsp;shared with local station KNXV. &ldquo;The Department&rsquo;s actions in the last 30 days before the election are further attempts to sabotage Sheriff Arpaio&hellip; It is clear from the timing that the Department of Justice is merely a political tool of the administration.&rdquo;&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span>Arpaio&rsquo;s legal troubles haven&rsquo;t come cheap. County taxpayers have so far spent an estimated $48 million on Arpaio and his agency&rsquo;s defense throughout the nearly seven-year racial profiling case, the Arizona Republic&nbsp;</span><a href="http://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/laurieroberts/2016/09/21/roberts-arpaio-just-cost-you-another-45-million/90786276/"><span>estimated</span></a><span>. That number is expected to hit $72 million by next year.</span></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/americas-toughest-sheriff-has-been-charged-with-criminal-contempt-for-defying-court-orders-to-stop-racial-profiling-2016-10#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/insectothopter-cia-dragonfly-spy-drone-military-defense-espionage-spies-2016-12">In the 1970s the CIA created a spy drone the size of a dragonfly</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/who-is-funding-the-fight-against-legal-marijuana-2016-10Here's who's bankrolling the fight against legal marijuanahttp://www.businessinsider.com/who-is-funding-the-fight-against-legal-marijuana-2016-10
Thu, 27 Oct 2016 19:11:00 -0400Keegan Hamilton
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/581267b5b28a644d008b5722-1492/marijuana.jpg" alt="marijuana" data-mce-source="Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP/File" data-mce-caption="Marijuana is harvested in Davenport, Calif., in In this Oct. 12, 2010 file photo. Marijuana is now the No. 1 cash crop in California." /></p><p></p>
<p>Even by the usual standards of politics, this election&rsquo;s campaign against marijuana legalization has made strange bedfellows.</p>
<p>The largest donors to the various anti-weed political groups around the country include a billionaire casino tycoon, a woman who believes in reefer madness, a drug-crusading former U.S. ambassador, cops, prison guards, booze merchants, and a pharma company that sells the powerful painkiller fentanyl.</p>
<p><span>A&nbsp;</span><a href="https://news.vice.com/story/legal-weed-could-pass-in-all-nine-states-voting-on-it-this-november"><span>majority of Americans favor legal pot</span></a><span>&nbsp;and pro-legalization campaigns have overwhelmingly outraised the opposition. </span></p>
<p><span>Supporters in the five states set to vote on recreational marijuana had a war chest of $30 million as of Oct. 20, compared to just $6.6 million for their rivals, according to&nbsp;</span><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Marijuana_on_the_ballot#tab=By_year"><span>campaign finance data</span></a><span>&nbsp;collected by the&nbsp;</span><span>nonpartisan site Ballotpedia.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span>The disparity comes largely from California, where proponents of legalization measure Proposition 64 have outraised their foes $18.1 million to $2 million.</span></p>
<p><span>Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, the largest anti-legalization group in the country, said the cash gap is &ldquo;not surprising&rdquo; and &ldquo;always what we expected.&rdquo; He noted that much of the pro-legalization money in California has come from entrepreneurs seeking to capitalize on what is projected to be&nbsp;</span><a href="https://frontierfinancials.com/product/california/"><span>a $6.5 billion market for marijuana</span></a><span>&nbsp;by 2020.</span></p>
<p><span>&ldquo;These guys don&rsquo;t care about ending the war on drugs,&rdquo; said Sabet. &ldquo;They care about making money.&rdquo;</span></p>
<p><span>But looking across the country, it&rsquo;s clear that self-interest &mdash; and the fear of lost profits &mdash; also fuels the effort to keep weed outlawed. </span></p>
<p><span>Tied for the largest single donation to Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy, the campaign against the state&rsquo;s recreational marijuana proposal, was&nbsp;</span><a href="http://www.alternet.org/drugs/maker-deadly-fentanyl-kicks-half-million-dollars-defeat-pot-legalization-arizona"><span>$500,000</span></a><span>&nbsp;from Insys Therapeutics, a pharmaceutical company known for selling the painkiller fentanyl in the form of a sublingual spray. The company and some former employees have faced&nbsp;</span><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-insys-lawsuit-idUSKCN110213"><span>lawsuits</span></a><span>&nbsp;and&nbsp;</span><a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2016/02/19/sales-rep-for-insys-painkiller-company-pleads-guilty.html"><span>criminal charges</span></a><span>&nbsp;over the way the drug was marketed.</span></p>
<p><span>Insys has&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/09/09/a-maker-of-deadly-painkillers-is-bankrolling-the-opposition-to-legal-marijuana-in-arizona/"><span>said</span></a><span>&nbsp;it opposes legalization because federal regulators have not approved marijuana for medical use and because the proposed law &ldquo;fails to protect the safety of Arizona&rsquo;s citizens, and particularly its children.&rdquo; But the company is also developing products that use pharmaceutical cannabinoids, a synthetic version of marijuana.</span></p>
<p><span><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/51a79aa2ecad046e2400000d-2400/rtr310di.jpg" alt="marijuana legalization" data-mce-source="Reuters" /></span></p>
<p><span>Sabet, whose organization coordinates anti-legalization campaigns nationwide, tried to distance the broader movement from Insys, saying his organization&rsquo;s funding comes from a range of sources. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not actively going to pharmaceutical companies and saying &lsquo;Give money to this; otherwise it&rsquo;s going to compete against your product.&rsquo; Maybe I should, but I&rsquo;m not going to do that,&rdquo; he said.</span></p>
<p><span>&ldquo;We get all of our money for these campaigns from individual donors, many people who lost family members to drug abuse, including from marijuana,&rdquo; Sabet said. &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t get a penny from corporations or a penny from opiate manufacturers.&rdquo;</span></p>
<p><span>The nonprofit group will not disclose its finances until its 2016 tax filings, but it has also formed state-level PACs to fight the various legalization campaigns, and information about those PACs&rsquo; donors is already publicly available.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span>One of Sabet&rsquo;s most generous individual donors is Julie Schauer, a wealthy art enthusiast who lives in the Washington, D.C., area. Through her family&rsquo;s trust, she has contributed more than $1.3 million to the organization&rsquo;s efforts to defeat California&rsquo;s recreational marijuana proposal, given at least $30,000 to the campaign against Nevada&rsquo;s proposed legal weed law, and donated another $25,000 to defeat the pro-pot effort in Massachusetts, according to an analysis of state campaign finance filings by VICE News.</span></p>
<p><span>Schauer did not respond to an email requesting comment and Sabet said she &ldquo;doesn&rsquo;t want to speak to the media.&rdquo; But she has made her views on marijuana public on several occasions. Tom Angell, founder of the pro-legalization group Marijuana Majority and a reporter for Marijuana.com, uncovered 2-year-old comments Schauer posted on the website OpenSecrets in which she&nbsp;</span><a href="http://www.marijuana.com/blog/news/2016/09/top-anti-legalization-funder-says-marijuana-causes-terrorism/"><span>blamed mass shootings and terrorist attacks</span></a><span>, including the Boston Marathon bombing, on the perpetrators&rsquo; marijuana use.</span></p>
<p><span>Schauer&rsquo;s largesse for the anti-marijuana movement has been eclipsed only by Sheldon Adelson, founder and CEO of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, a gambling empire that includes 10 casinos in the U.S. and Asia. Ranked as one of the world&rsquo;s richest men by Forbes, Adelson has contributed a combined $5 million this election cycle to efforts to stop legal weed in Nevada, Massachusetts, Arizona, and Florida. Adelson previously&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/10/28/casino-billionaire-sheldon-adelson-is-behind-85-percent-of-floridas-anti-pot-campaign/"><span>contributed $5.5 million</span></a><span>&nbsp;to defeat Florida&rsquo;s medical marijuana measure in 2014.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/50169bf0eab8ea833600000a-900/149492394.jpg" alt="Sheldon Adelson" data-mce-source="Uriel Sinai/Getty Images" /></span></p>
<p><span>Representatives at the Sands Corporation and Adelson&rsquo;s charitable foundation did not respond to requests for comment about the donations. Sabet suggested that Adelson isn&rsquo;t motivated by business interests, noting that he &ldquo;lost a child to drug abuse,&rdquo; something Adelson&rsquo;s wife has&nbsp;</span><a href="http://www.haaretz.com/the-adelson-method-1.240773"><span>spoken about</span></a><span>&nbsp;publicly.</span></p>
<p><span>Aside from Adelson, Florida&rsquo;s largest anti-weed donor &mdash; contributing $1 million &mdash; is Mel Sembler, chairman emeritus of the Sembler Company, a commercial real estate firm. A major Republican fundraiser, he served as the U.S. ambassador to Italy and to Australia. Sembler and his wife, Betty, are cofounders of the&nbsp;</span><span>Drug Free America Foundation, a group that&nbsp;</span><a href="https://dfaf.org/about-us/position-statements/"><span>supports drug-testing students</span></a><span>, opposes taking a&nbsp;</span><a href="http://harmreduction.org/about-us/principles-of-harm-reduction/"><span>harm-reduction</span></a><span>&nbsp;approach to drug addiction, and claims that &ldquo;crude&rdquo; marijuana is not medicine.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span>A spokesperson for the Sembler Company directed a request for comment about Sembler&rsquo;s stance on marijuana to Sembler&rsquo;s personal assistant, who did not respond. Sembler wasn&rsquo;t the only prominent anti-pot donor who seemingly didn&rsquo;t want to discuss the topic &mdash; multiple requests for comment for this story went unanswered.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span>&ldquo;Most [donors] would like to remain anonymous,&rdquo; said Sabet. &ldquo;They don&rsquo;t want the limelight. They care about the issue; they let me take the bullet. They&rsquo;re not people anybody knows.&rdquo;</span></p>
<p><span>Any fear of blowback hasn&rsquo;t stopped businesses and executives with a national profile from bankrolling anti-weed campaigns. Ernie Garcia, chairman of used-car vendor DriveTime, donated $250,000 to the cause in Arizona, and the moving and storage company U-Haul added another $25,000. Carol Jenkins Barnett, whose father founded the Publix supermarket chain, has contributed $800,000 to defeating Florida&rsquo;s medical pot initiative.</span></p>
<p><span>In Massachusetts, one industry in particular has joined forces against the state&rsquo;s recreational marijuana proposal. A wine and spirits wholesalers association kicked in $50,000 to the opposition campaign, and a beer distributors group added another $25,000. Local pubs, including McGreevy&rsquo;s, a prominent Boston establishment that bills itself as &ldquo;America&rsquo;s first sports bar,&rdquo; have contributed lesser amounts. McGreevy&rsquo;s and the Lower Mills Tavern in the city&rsquo;s Dorchester neighborhood both donated $1,000 to the cause &mdash; a move that hasn&rsquo;t gone over well with some customers who have&nbsp;</span><a href="https://twitter.com/RoKnewMusic/status/789495329309593601"><span>vowed to boycott</span></a><span>.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/514b3606ecad048b3c000002-2211/ap110112048357.jpg" alt="nevada marijuana protest" data-mce-source="AP" /></span></p>
<p><span>In some cases, opponents of pot ballot initiatives claim to support drug policy reform &mdash; just not full-blown legalization. Lauren Michaels, legislative affairs manager for the California Police Chiefs Association, which donated $20,000 to the campaign against Prop 64, noted that her organization supports medical marijuana in the state but opposes the proposed recreational system because &ldquo;there&rsquo;s much less oversight and accountability for complying with state regulations.&rdquo;&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span>A number of other law enforcement groups have contributed to the anti-Prop 64 campaign, including $25,000 from the Peace Officers Research Association of California, a coalition of more than 66,000 law enforcement members, and $5,000 from the prison guards at the California Correctional Supervisors Organization. Michaels said the police chiefs believe Prop 64 will do little to curb the black market and say it would put more stoned drivers on the road. Like Sabet, she pointed to money pouring into the race from the weed industry.</span></p>
<p><span>&ldquo;The people who are supporting the initiative, it&rsquo;s a business investment for them &mdash; of course they&rsquo;re going to invest money,&rdquo; Michaels said. &ldquo;The people opposing it are essentially people connected to their communities. They&rsquo;re not going to have large amounts of money. We weren&rsquo;t surprised or daunted in any way. That&rsquo;s just the reality.&rdquo;</span></p>
<p><span>Cops and prosecutors will have jobs whether weed is legal or not, but Mason Tvert, spokesperson for the Marijuana Policy Project, a group that is coordinating and financing legalization campaigns across the U.S., noted that millions of dollars worth of anti-narcotics funding are potentially at stake. And whether the campaign contributions are coming from a pharmaceutical company or a prison guard union, he said, keeping marijuana illegal often boosts donors&rsquo; bottom lines &mdash; and ensures that nonviolent users and suppliers will keep ending up behind bars.</span></p>
<p><span>&ldquo;These people are trying to basically allow the continued criminalization of thousands and thousands of adults in order to continue making money,&rdquo; Tvert said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s kinda shady.&rdquo;</span></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/who-is-funding-the-fight-against-legal-marijuana-2016-10#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/dermatologist-best-way-wash-your-face-2016-11">The 3 worst things you do when you wash your face — according to a dermatologist</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/arizonas-best-handmade-pasta-2016-10Arizona's best handmade pasta is made by this talented chefhttp://www.businessinsider.com/arizonas-best-handmade-pasta-2016-10
Thu, 27 Oct 2016 10:52:14 -0400Sydney Kramer
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/arizonas-best-handmade-pasta-2016-10#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/marijuana-states-legalize-weed-2016-105 states may legalize recreational marijuana use this year — here's what we knowhttp://www.businessinsider.com/marijuana-states-legalize-weed-2016-10
Tue, 25 Oct 2016 14:22:30 -0400Ben Gilbert
<p>Nearly half of the US has already legalized marijuana for either medical or recreational use. This November, nine states could continue the trend.</p>
<p><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/54bbf63d69bedd9c02fa7c90-2400/rtr4fzla.jpg" alt="marijuana colorado" data-mce-source="Rick Wilking/Reuters" data-mce-caption="Customers shop for &amp;quotGreen Friday&amp;quot deals at the Grass Station marijuana shop on Black Friday in Denver, Colorado November 28, 2014." /></p>
<p>Of those nine states, five have ballot initiatives that could result in legal recreational use. Most significantly, California could legalize recreational use &mdash; <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/california-weed-marijuana-legalization-2016-9">thus making the entire West Coast a legal enclave for recreational cannabis</a>.</p>
<p>All the initiatives below will be voted on this November, alongside the presidential election. Here's everything we know:</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/marijuana-legalization-massachusetts-from-alcohol-2016-9" >Marijuana legalization is facing a major challenge from the alcohol industry</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>DON'T MISS:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/9-most-popular-weed-strains-2016-9" >These are the 9 most popular weed strains in Colorado</a></strong></p>
<h3>1. Massachusetts</h3>
<img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/5763f4f4dd089522388b457b-400-300/1-massachusetts.jpg" alt="" />
<p><p>In Massachusetts on November 8, voters will choose yes or no on Question 4 &mdash; a bill to legalize the recreational use, possession, cultivation, and sale of marijuana. The bill calls for regulation along the lines of alcohol, if passed.</p>
<p>Though Massachusetts is a long-running blue state, the legalization effort in the commonwealth faces serious opposition from sitting leadership in both parties. Republican Gov. Charlie Baker and Boston Democratic Mayor Marty Walsh oppose recreational legalization. The two joined Attorney General Maura Healey <a href="http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2016/03/04/mass-should-not-legalize-marijuana/njYep84wtERutHNIHByu4J/story.html">in a Boston Globe op-ed this March</a> opposing the measure:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">"Our state has already decriminalized the drug for personal use, and we've made it legally available for medical use. The question before us now is whether marijuana should be fully legal and widely available for commercial sale. We think the answer is 'no.'"</p>
<p>All that said, a majority of voters support the measure, according to <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Massachusetts_Marijuana_Legalization,_Question_4_(2016)#Polls">the current polling average on Ballotpedia</a>. And two previous measures &mdash; to decriminalize use and legalize medical use &mdash; passed by a wide margin.</p>
<p>If it passes, the bill would fully legalize recreational marijuana starting on December 15, 2016.</p>
<p><strong>Name:</strong> <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Massachusetts_Marijuana_Legalization,_Question_4_(2016)">Question 4</a></p>
<p><strong>Chance of passing:</strong> Good. The average of polls, <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Massachusetts_Marijuana_Legalization,_Question_4_(2016)">according to Ballotpedia</a>, is 50.4% support versus 41.9% opposed, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.</p></p>
<br/><br/><h3>2. Maine</h3>
<img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/577d5ac488e4a727008b64d3-400-300/2-maine.jpg" alt="" />
<p><p>In Maine on November 8, voters will choose yes or no on Question 1 &mdash; a bill to legalize the recreational use, possession, cultivation, and sale of marijuana to adults over 21. Maine already allows for medicinal marijuana use.</p>
<p>Though Maine is a Democrat-leaning state, and this bill looks destined for passing with overwhelming support, several prior legalization efforts have failed. This time, things look more certain: Over $1 million was raised in pursuit of legalization in Maine, much of which was already spent gathering the signatures necessary to get Question 1 on the ballot this November.</p>
<p>Attorney General Janet Mills and Gov. Paul LePage both oppose legalization, but there appears to be no formal opposition groups for this November's ballot measure.</p>
<p><strong>Name:</strong> <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Maine_Marijuana_Legalization,_Question_1_(2016)">Question 1</a></p>
<p><strong>Chance of passing:</strong> Good. The average of polls, <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Maine_Marijuana_Legalization,_Question_1_(2016)#Polls">according to Ballotpedia</a>, is 53.4% support versus 40.2%&nbsp;opposed, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.23&nbsp;percentage points.</p></p>
<br/><br/><h3>3. Arizona</h3>
<img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/56deeb2491058424008b4cef-400-300/3-arizona.jpg" alt="" />
<p><p>In Arizona on November 8, voters will choose yes or no on Proposition 205 &mdash; a bill to legalize the recreation use and cultivation of marijuana.</p>
<p>If passed, regulation of marijuana would be handled on a state level, while regulation of individual retail stores would be handled on a town/city level. Legalization would only apply to residents age 21 or older.</p>
<p>Despite Sen. John McCain's support of legalization in the state, Republican Gov. Doug Ducey opposes the initiative. Overall, Arizona is an overwhelmingly red state and has been for decades. Former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney took the state's 11 electoral votes from President Barack Obama in 2012.</p>
<p>That said, Arizona is a state with rapidly changing demographics &mdash; and with that demographic shift comes a political shift. Polling shows a close race in the battle over marijuana legalization, but the proposition, currently, looks as though it won't pass.</p>
<p><strong>Name:</strong> <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Arizona_Marijuana_Legalization,_Proposition_205_(2016)">Proposition 205</a></p>
<p><strong>Chance of passing:</strong> Not good. The average of polls puts support at 45.74%, and opposition at 45.56%, <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Arizona_Marijuana_Legalization,_Proposition_205_(2016)#Polls">according to Ballotpedia</a>. With a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points, it's <em>possible</em> the proposition will pass, but it's not&nbsp;a sure thing.</p></p>
<br/><br/><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/marijuana-states-legalize-weed-2016-10#/#4-california-4">See the rest of the story at Business Insider</a> http://www.businessinsider.com/17-trillion-in-unfunded-state-pensions-is-squeezing-vital-public-programs-2016-10$1.7 trillion in unfunded state pensions is squeezing vital public programshttp://www.businessinsider.com/17-trillion-in-unfunded-state-pensions-is-squeezing-vital-public-programs-2016-10
Mon, 24 Oct 2016 22:43:00 -0400Josh B. McGee
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/580e800b362ca478018b4618-1580/27393564520_ede8674fba_k.jpg" alt="teacher students classroom kids secretary of education" data-mce-source="US Department of Education/flickr" data-link="https://www.flickr.com/photos/departmentofed/27393564520/in/dateposted/" /></p><p></p>
<p>Governments across the country are facing down at least $1.7 trillion in unpaid pension costs for public workers.</p>
<p>As these growing commitments squeeze local budgets and crowd out essential services, taxpayers are being asked to cover a larger bill&mdash;and get less in return.</p>
<p>Public education is the largest and potentially the most important sector to be affected by pension crowd-out.</p>
<p>Almost every state increased teachers&rsquo; retirement benefits in the booming 1990&rsquo;s, but those increases were not accompanied by responsible funding plans.</p>
<p>By 2003 teachers&rsquo; plans were short by $235 billion, and by 2009, pension debt had more than doubled to $584 billion.</p>
<p>Market growth since the Great Recession has barely put a dent in the shortfall, which still totals around $500 billion. Carrying such a sizable debt is expensive and has resulted in large cost increases.</p>
<p>These costs inevitably cut into education spending. Between 2000 and 2013, pension contributions per pupil increased at a rate five times higher than total education expenditures. This did little to halt the growth in debt: Pension debt per pupil increased by $9,588 over this period, more than nine times larger than the increase in total annual education expenditures per pupil.</p>
<p>Almost every state has experienced large pension cost increases, but eight states have had faced a particularly difficult budgetary challenge. Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, Texas, and Wisconsin experienced the double whammy of declining per-pupil expenditures and growing pension contributions. As these governments spend more on teachers, they are spending less on their students.</p>
<p>Among the losses: Per pupil spending on equipment, facilities, and property fell by 27 percent between 2000 and 2013, likely resulting in a growing backlog of expensive repairs and replacements that will need to occur sometime down the road.</p>
<p><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/545ab4405afbd3da0c8b4567-800/fight-over-public-pensions-to-widen-after-republican-election-gains.jpg" alt="Phil Bailey (R) joins a group of labor activists as they rally for jobs and pensions outside Cobo Center ahead of the media preview of the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan January 12, 2014. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook" data-mce-source="Thomson Reuters" data-mce-caption="Activists rally for jobs and pensions outside Cobo Center before auto show in Detroit" /></p>
<p>Classrooms also felt the squeeze. Per pupil spending on instructional supplies (e.g., textbooks) declined by 10 percent nationally, and more than half of states (28) spent less per pupil on instructional supplies in 2013 than in 2000.</p>
<p>Teachers also directly experienced the effects of pension cost crowd-out. Salaries were flat over the same period while retirement benefits were reduced in almost every state, sometimes by very large amounts. Pension systems meant to protect teachers are now resulting in stagnant salaries, reduced retirement benefits, and less spending on classroom supplies, equipment, and building upkeep&mdash;all with very real implications for student learning.</p>
<p>Since 2013 the crowd-out pressure has only intensified as pension contributions grew by another 28 percent by 2015. Moreover, without meaningful reform, there is no relief in sight. Even if teachers&rsquo; pension plans achieve their assumed rates of return over the next decade, taxpayer cost is expected to grow at a rate higher than the recent trend for budget growth. However, given current economic conditions, it is more likely that plans will fall short of their investment targets.</p>
<p>If teachers&rsquo; plans only achieve an annual return of 6 percent, aggregate pension debt owed to teachers&rsquo; plans would be expected to have grown by roughly 70 percent by 2025, while taxpayer contributions to educator pensions would be expected to have grown by 75 percent. The states expected to experience the largest pension cost growth include California, Colorado, New Jersey, and Texas where average annual growth could approach 10 percent or more.</p>
<p>Proponents of current pension systems are quick to exclaim that there is no pension crisis. While most systems are not on the brink of failure, retirement costs per pupil have more than doubled since 2000 and are approaching 10 percent of all education expenditures. Rising retirement costs are crowding out important education spending, and without reform, the problem will only get worse over the next decade.</p>
<p>It&rsquo;s time to come together to create sustainable retirement savings systems instead of waiting idly by until a real crisis develops.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/17-trillion-in-unfunded-state-pensions-is-squeezing-vital-public-programs-2016-10#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/insectothopter-cia-dragonfly-spy-drone-military-defense-espionage-spies-2016-12">In the 1970s the CIA created a spy drone the size of a dragonfly</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/melt-in-phoenix-puts-fortune-cookies-on-its-ice-cream-cones-2016-10Melt in Phoenix puts fortune cookies on its ice cream coneshttp://www.businessinsider.com/melt-in-phoenix-puts-fortune-cookies-on-its-ice-cream-cones-2016-10
Thu, 20 Oct 2016 14:34:00 -0400Sydney Kramer
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/melt-in-phoenix-puts-fortune-cookies-on-its-ice-cream-cones-2016-10#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-poll-arizona-2016-10Poll shows Hillary Clinton with a growing lead in a state that's turned blue only once since 1948http://www.businessinsider.com/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-poll-arizona-2016-10
Wed, 19 Oct 2016 16:18:40 -0400Allan Smith
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/5807cd74c52402ce248b5684-1352/gettyimages-613968870.jpg" alt="GettyImages 613968870" data-mce-source="Joe Raedle/Getty Images" data-mce-caption="Hillary Clinton." /></p><p>Hillary Clinton has a growing lead in Arizona &mdash; a state that has voted for a Democratic president just once since 1948.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/10/19/arizona-poll-hillary-clinton-donald-trump/92339110/" target="_blank">A Wednesday poll</a> from The Arizona Republic showed Clinton with a 5-point lead over Donald Trump in a four-way race that included Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson and Green Party nominee Jill Stein.</p>
<p>The Democratic nominee held a 39% to 33.9% advantage over the Republican nominee in the poll. When undecided voters leaning toward either candidate were included, those numbers increased to 43.3% for Clinton and 37.8% for Trump.</p>
<p>In a late-August Arizona Republic poll, Clinton's lead over Trump was just 1 point.</p>
<p>After the poll's publication, Clinton swung into a slight lead in the <a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/az/arizona_trump_vs_clinton_vs_johnson_vs_stein-6087.html#polls" target="_blank">RealClearPolitics polling average</a> for the state. She now leads the Manhattan billionaire by 0.2 points.</p>
<p>The last Democrat to win a presidential race in Arizona was Clinton's husband, Bill, in 1996.</p>
<p>The poll's margin of error was plus or minus 4.3 percentage points.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/john-kasich-interview-business-insider-gop-2016-10" >John Kasich's dire warning for the Republican Party: EVOLVE OR DIE</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-poll-arizona-2016-10#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/law-prohibits-trump-naming-children-cabinet-ivanka-jared-kushner-2016-11">Why Ivanka can't serve in a Trump cabinet</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/hillary-clinton-winning-arizona-presidential-election-2016-10Here are Hillary Clinton's chances of winning Arizonahttp://www.businessinsider.com/hillary-clinton-winning-arizona-presidential-election-2016-10
Mon, 17 Oct 2016 19:36:18 -0400Stefan Becket
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/580540c68d83b4b8628b491e-2400/gettyimages-545131218.jpg" alt="Hillary Clinton" data-mce-source="Alex Wong/ Getty Images" /></p><p></p>
<p>With the election just 22 days away,&nbsp;Hillary Clinton&nbsp;is trying to run up the score in a campaign that is hers to lose.</p>
<p>During a conference call with reporters on Monday, Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook announced a slate of new spending in key battleground states across the country, aimed at boosting Clinton's prospects and helping Democrats on the state and local level.</p>
<p>Mook said Democrats plan to spend $100 million to help Democratic candidates by Election Day, in what he called an "unprecedented" effort to help down-ballot candidates.</p>
<p>The new spending includes $6 million in new direct mail and digital ads in Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania, Nevada, North Carolina, Iowa and New Hampshire. The investment is a mix of campaign funds and money from the Hillary Victory Fund, a joint fundraising effort with the Democratic National Committee, according to a Clinton spokesman.</p>
<h2>Going on the offense in Arizona</h2>
<p>The most revealing facet of the new round of spending is the campaign's investment into Arizona, which has voted for only&nbsp;<span data-editor-comment-id="0d60014f-c4ca-456f-8cee-eb8e8eb045e2">one</span>&nbsp;Democratic presidential candidate&nbsp;since 1952.</p>
<p>Mook announced that the Clinton campaign's "coordinated effort" will spend over $2 million in new television, direct mail and digital ads in Arizona.</p>
<p>"Donald Trump's hateful rhetoric and deeply disrespectful remarks about Sen. John McCain have made Arizona more competitive," Mook said, referring to Trump's long history of attacking the 2008 Republican nominee. "This is a state that would really foreclose a path for Trump to win the White House."</p>
<p>Mook also said that the campaign is ramping up its surrogate operation in Arizona, announcing that Michelle Obama&nbsp;will travel&nbsp;to Phoenix on Thursday. Chelsea Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders&nbsp;are also scheduled to hold events in the state this week.</p>
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/5719354f9037f707447b23c6-2400/rtx24r5q.jpg" alt="clinton" data-mce-source="Reuters" data-mce-caption="Audience members pose for a photograph with U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton during a &amp;quotGet Out to Caucus&amp;quot rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa January 30, 2016." /></p>
<p>Clinton made a six-figure advertising buy in Arizona back in September, which struck many&nbsp;as an odd commitment at the time. Over the&nbsp;<span data-editor-comment-id="6d38f88c-65af-4409-bf6f-b4168f688c73">summer</span>, Trump was considered the clear favorite to win Arizona, due largely&nbsp;to his anti-immigration message in the border state.</p>
<p>But not anymore. The Clinton campaign's decision to pour money and resources into the state is an indication that Democrats are going on the offensive with just over three weeks until Election Day, hoping to reclaim the Senate and make a dent in the Republicans' majority in the House.</p>
<p>Trump's recent vulnerability in previously dark-red states is not entirely surprising. The Trump campaign&nbsp;has devoted few resources to building a ground operation in Arizona, with just five paid staffers from the campaign and the state and national parties on the ground, according to&nbsp;<a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/donald-trump-risk-losing-arizona-state-officials-say-n667281">NBC News</a>. However, the candidate himself has held numerous rallies in the state over the past several weeks.</p>
<p>Clinton's chances of winning Arizona are about even, and the numbers have been trending in her direction. Polling has been scarce in the state, with the&nbsp;<em><a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/az/arizona_trump_vs_clinton_vs_johnson_vs_stein-6087.html">RealClearPolitics</a></em>&nbsp;average showing Trump holding just a one-point lead. The most recent poll, taken in early October, found Clinton up by two points.&nbsp;<em><a href="http://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2016-election-forecast/arizona/">FiveThirtyEight</a></em>&nbsp;gives Clinton a 54% chance of winning the state.</p>
<p><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/575b115b910584cc008c85f0-2400/gettyimages-538718716.jpg" alt="clinton" data-mce-source="Justin Sullivan/Getty Images" data-mce-caption="Democratic presidential candidate former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks during a primary night event on June 7, 2016 in Brooklyn, New York. Hillary Clinton beat rival Bernie Sanders in the New Jersey presidential primary." /></p>
<h2>What a Clinton victory in Arizona would mean</h2>
<p>A Clinton win in Arizona would be disastrous for Republicans and point to a rout by Democratic candidates up and down the ballot on Election Day. Even if she doesn't prevail, the campaign's deployment of resources in the state will force Republicans to play defensively and spend money that could otherwise be used to fund operations in traditional battleground states.</p>
<p>The Clinton campaign's expansion of the "coordinated campaign" on Monday is in line with this trend. The campaign and its joint fundraising apparatus is devoting funds and resources to helping candidates in competitive gubernatorial and Senate races, including spending $1&nbsp;<span data-editor-comment-id="742d5118-69e0-4094-8cb7-d2b483200975">million</span>&nbsp;in Illinois and Missouri &mdash; the latter a long shot for Clinton to win, the former solidly in her corner.</p>
<p>Mook said Trump's recent attacks on fellow Republicans after weeks of revelations about his history of treatment toward women presents an opportunity for Democrats to capitalize in races across the country.</p>
<p>"The bottom line is that&nbsp;Donald Trump's erratic behavior and now-spiraling campaign have left the Republican Party in a civil war,"&nbsp;Mook said. "With signs of high turnout across the country, Democrats have a historic opportunity to elect not just the first woman president, but leaders across the country who will work with her."</p>
<p>Mook also said the Clinton hopes to personally appear in the state before the election on Nov. 8.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/hillary-clinton-winning-arizona-presidential-election-2016-10#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trailer-martin-scorsese-film-silence-paramount-andrew-garfield-liam-neeson-adam-driver-2016-11">Watch the trailer for the new Martin Scorsese film that took over 20 years to make</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/prosecutors-say-they-will-charge-sheriff-joe-arpaio-with-criminal-contempt-2016-10Federal prosecutors say they'll charge Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio with criminal contempt over a racial profiling casehttp://www.businessinsider.com/prosecutors-say-they-will-charge-sheriff-joe-arpaio-with-criminal-contempt-2016-10
Tue, 11 Oct 2016 14:41:57 -0400David Schwartz
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/5702e9be52bcd044008bab9f-2400/rtr3c9c6.jpg" alt="Sheriff Joe Arpaio" data-mce-source="Reuters/Laura Segall" data-mce-caption="Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio announces newly launched program aimed at providing security around schools in Anthem, Arizona, Jan. 9, 2013." /></p><p></p>
<p>PHOENIX (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors said on Tuesday they will seek a criminal contempt charge against Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff Joe<span>&nbsp;Arpaio</span>, known for his tough stance on illegal immigration, for violating a court order in a 2007 racial profiling case.</p>
<p>John Keller, a trial attorney with the Public Integrity section of the U.S. Justice Department, told Judge Susan Bolton in U.S. District Court in Phoenix that<span>&nbsp;Arpaio&nbsp;</span>should be criminally charged.</p>
<p>Keller said they are seeking no more than six months incarceration for the 84-year-old longtime Arizona lawman.</p>
<p>The case centers on U.S. District Judge Murray Snow's ruling that<span>&nbsp;Arpaio&nbsp;</span>intentionally violated a 2011 court order barring the sheriff's office from stopping and detaining drivers solely based on the suspicion that they were in the country illegally. The stops continued for another 18 months.</p>
<p>In August, Snow recommended<span>&nbsp;Arpaio&nbsp;</span>face criminal charges for ignoring court orders arising out of the judge's ruling that the sheriff and his deputies were guilty of racial profiling of Latino motorists. The case was assigned to a different judge after the recommendation.</p>
<p>(Reporting by David Schwartz; Editing by Chris Reese and Jeffrey Benkoe)</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/controversial-arizona-sheriff-joe-arpaio-wins-his-republican-primary-2016-8" >Controversial Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio wins his Republican primary</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/prosecutors-say-they-will-charge-sheriff-joe-arpaio-with-criminal-contempt-2016-10#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/air-force-plane-drops-armored-humvees-5000-feet-2016-11">Watch the Air Force drop 8 armored Humvees out of a plane from 5,000 feet</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/a-20-foot-ladder-leads-to-a-secret-hot-spring-in-arizona-2016-9A 20-foot ladder leads to a secret hot spring in Arizonahttp://www.businessinsider.com/a-20-foot-ladder-leads-to-a-secret-hot-spring-in-arizona-2016-9
Thu, 29 Sep 2016 13:32:00 -0400David Fang
<p>The Arizona Hot Springs near Lake Mead are one of the state's best-kept secrets. To get to one particularly spectacular spring, visitors have to hike six miles and climb a 20-foot ladder.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/a-20-foot-ladder-leads-to-a-secret-hot-spring-in-arizona-2016-9#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p>